WTF is a Sneaker Head?
A sneakerhead is a person who is highly experienced visually even to the point of discernment in distinguishing between real and fake replicas and also owns multiple pairs of sneakers as a form of Hobby, collection, Trade and fashion. It is a hobby often manifested by the use and collection of shoes made for sports, such as basketball and or other sports. The birth of sneakerhead culture in the United States came in the 1980s and can be attributed to two major sources: basketball, specifically the emergence of Michael Jordan and his eponymous Air Jordan line of shoes released in 1985, and the growth of hip hop music. The boom of signature basketball shoes during this era provided the sheer variety necessary for a collecting subculture, while the Hip-Hop movement gave the sneakers their street credibility as status symbols. The sneakerhead culture has emerged in European nations such as the Czech Republic in the last decade.

Where to buy?

FootLocker.com
The basic sneaker store its in (Just about) every mall and has good selection no matter were you go and good price ranges. FootLocker is a great starting point and it has a wide variety.

FlightClubNY.comFlightClubLA.com
These are where you find the dopest sneakers. The Jordans, The Foamposites, The Air Yeezys, etc. Sometimes they have a good sale or two but sometimes the mark up the prices because the sneakers start to get so hard to find. Still they have great selection for those sneakers that you missed out on.

How To Keep Your Kicks Clean
You can go old school and use a toothbrush and soap and it will get little scuffs out easily.

1. Create a mixture of water and a neutral cleaner. Dishwashing detergent or shampoo works well.
2. Remove the laces.
3. Grab a soft-tipped brush. Dip it into your cleaning mixture and scrub it over all parts of the shoes.
4. Remove any scuff marks with a nylon scrub pad. For alternatives, a toothbrush or sponge works well too.
5. Rinse the shoes inside and out once more. This way, you will be sure if you got all of the dirt and grime off.
6. Stuff the shoes with paper and allow them to dry overnight. This will help them to absorb excess water and keep their normal shape. Do not use newspaper or magazine pictures because the ink will run into the shoes.
7. Wash the laces in a load of laundry.

Suede Shoes

1. Brush out any dirt. Use a suede cleaning brush to gently brush everything off. Make sure to brush in the same direction and do not go back and forth. For stubborn dirt marks that won't go away with a brush, try using a pencil eraser.
2. Remove scuff marks. The suede brush can now be used in a back and forth motion to removed scuffed areas.
3. Remove water stains. To remove the water that can affect discolored suede, apply a light coat of water with a nail brush. Use a sponge or dry cloth to soak up excess water and then let the shoes dry overnight.

Originally Posted by Slizz

I want to contribute some other good sneaker cleaning methods. Mr. Clean Magic Erasers are incredible for spot cleans and touch ups in between full cleans.

Then for a full clean I recommend this:

20$ with shipping and totally worth it. Works on all surfaces too, including suede(use a toothbrush instead of the firm brush they provide you)

Watch out for Fakes
If you live in a city or shop online its easy to come across fakes. You must watch out for fakes, because the market for fakes is at a all time high.

1. Always check the inner tag in shoe that shows the size. Many times the tag has the wrong production year and the font style is off from an authentic tag.

2. Always look at the tag on the box. On most FAKES the box tag will be too big or labeled in the wrong place.

3. Check the original box, most FAKES boxes will be very thin and have lots of damage.

- thoughts on the current direction of the shoe game? Can't complain. Re-releasing everything I couldn't afford as a kid.

- price rises vs declining material quality? It is what it is, but they do a really solid job sometimes with the retros (see - Penny 2's, Air Zoom Flight 95's). But yeah, generally they will skimp on retros.

If we could get a post your collections started in this thread, that'd be amazing. Always like seeing what people have!

I personally am a fan of the Nike SB line but I do have some random pairs from the Adidas X Star Wars line from a while ago and the 'Nintendo' Air Max BW's. Also have a couple of Onitsuka Tigers as well.

Thoughts on the current direction of the shoe game? - I like the fact they're retroing shoes outside of Jordans. I never got those Kamikaze's, the Crazy 8s or anything that MJ wasn't wearing, even though I was a huge fan of the players wearing them as a kid. Now that I can, I can't complain. Current player lines suck though.

Price rises vs declining material quality? - I never really tripped off of either. I paid $200+ for some Retro 5s only for them to get retroed for cheaper. -_-'

I was briefly really into sneakers. Not so much now -- and I never had the money and time to line up overnight anyways -- but I do love clean lines like some versions of the Nike Frees, the New Balance newSKYs, and of course Dunks and AF1s.

What are your thoughts?- favorite shoes/player lines? I like Jordans, SOME KD Color ways, Lebrons are alright too. Air max, Chucks,and Shell toe Adidas.- thoughts on the current direction of the shoe game? Cant really complain since back in the day I was to young to buy my own shoes.- price rises vs declining material quality? Cant really complain about this either since almost every other industry is the same way.

Originally Posted by beat

I was briefly really into sneakers. Not so much now -- and I never had the money and time to line up overnight anyways -- but I do love clean lines like some versions of the Nike Frees, the New Balance newSKYs, and of course Dunks and AF1s.

I want to contribute some other good sneaker cleaning methods. Mr. Clean Magic Erasers are incredible for spot cleans and touch ups in between full cleans.

Then for a full clean I recommend this:

20$ with shipping and totally worth it. Works on all surfaces too, including suede(use a toothbrush instead of the firm brush they provide you)

My most recent kicks are these:

Love Dunks.

Looks like the most typical over priced brand material if I ever seen one.
The product no doubt use the exact same cleaning components that the regular $2-$5 shoe cleaners at every Walmart & supermarket out.

Looks like the most typical over priced brand material if I ever seen one.
The product no doubt use the exact same cleaning components that the regular $2-$5 shoe cleaners at every Walmart & supermarket out.

I guess looks can be deceiving. Dunno about 5 dollar Kiwi Athletic shoe cleaner having soap made from Coconut and jojoba oils, as well as being environmentally safe. Blanket statements are cool.

I had some kamikaze like shoes when I was younger. No idea what they were now though. If I had money to spend I'd be all over these:

I've been wearing Mexico 66s for like a decade now. For someone who doesn't need a lot of arch support and likes a really light/minimal shoe, these are the best. Whenever I see a pair for cheap, I buy them. They usually run around $80, but certain colors go as low as $40 on Amazon occasionally.

I've been wearing Mexico 66s for like a decade now. For someone who doesn't need a lot of arch support and likes a really light/minimal shoe, these are the best. Whenever I see a pair for cheap, I buy them. They usually run around $80, but certain colors go as low as $40 on Amazon occasionally.

I've found I need arch support no matter what because I have higher than normal ones. So inserts are my friend with pretty much all shoes these days.

Great thread, Mr. Fresh. #92 on those Dev posted are sweet. Those black royal Air Jordan 1 in the op...tempting as hell. Just bought a pair of new balance the other day. Gonna have to add anything else to a wishlist for my birthday in March.

Originally Posted by Auron_Kale

Still my favorite...

I need to wear them more often lol.

Nice.

Originally Posted by Slizz

Owned a pair of Mexico 66's, graduated to Ultimate 81's

Got this pair; arch support, really comfortable and around 60$ for most colors.

Great thread, Mr. Fresh. #92 on those Dev posted are sweet. Those black royal Air Jordan 1 in the op...tempting as hell. Just bought a pair of new balance the other day. Gonna have to add anything else to a wishlist for my birthday in March.Nice.Where you buyin at?

Zappos, just looked at the site, got them from 55 to 70$, free shipping.

Great thread, Mr. Fresh. #92 on those Dev posted are sweet. Those black royal Air Jordan 1 in the op...tempting as hell. Just bought a pair of new balance the other day. Gonna have to add anything else to a wishlist for my birthday in March.Nice.Where you buyin at?